Los Angeles Clippers: It's Time to Backoff and Appreciate Mike Dunleavy's Team

It's easy to make fun of the helpless; to kick someone when they are down.  Heck, it's not only easy, it's fun.  Lions have long lived off the weakest gazelle and basketball fans have always felt better about their team by bashing the Clippers.

Net fan meets Celtic fan on a business trip. 

Celtic fan, "Hey, you're team sucks bad." 

Net fan, "Oh, yeah?  Well at least we went to the Finals in 2002." 

Celtic fan, "Yeah, but you stink BAD now." 

Net fan, "Brook Lopez is a stud." 

Celtic fan, "Yeah, but you haven't won a single game yet this year!"

Net fan, "Yeah, but the Clippers are really bad all the time." 

Celtic fan, "Yeah, but..." 

Net fan, "L.A. Clippers we aren't." 

Celtic fan, "Yeah, good point". 

Hearty laugh from both.

The iconic Charles Atlas print advertisements come to mind.  The skinny kid is at the beach with his best girl when some steroid-ish goliath kicks sand in his face!  He stands up to the bully but ultimately is humiliated and sulks home.  He is angry and decides things are going to change and starts working with the Atlas muscle building program. 

After some time he returns to the beach all manly and buffed up.  He kicks some bully butt, gets his girl back and wins the NBA Championship.

I obviously made that last part up, but I think you understand the analogy.  The Clippers have been the butt of the joke, the skinny kid at the beach, long enough.  Sure, it was deserved.  This is the team that drafted Benoit Benjamin after all.  But, times change.  The Clippers got angry and are starting to bulk up.

Change in the NBA takes time.  Even the Lakers (the other basketball team in Los Angeles) took three years to return to elite status after falling to the ranks of mediocrity.  Turning a ocean liner takes time.  The Clippers began the turn in 2007.

Mike Dunleavy has taken a lot of heat for his role both as coach and GM for the Clippers.  Most notably from Bill Simmons, the ESPN Sportsguy. 

Bashing a GM is kind of like throwing the flag for holding in the NFL and calling a player for travelling in the NBA: you can probably call it on every play. 

Likewise, every team's GM has some flaw.  But, if you consider that Dunleavy began to assert his influence in 2007 (Elgin Baylor was officially dismissed Oct. 8, 2008) then his track record is pretty amazing.

• Drafted Al Thornton.
• Traded for Zack Randolph and Mardy Collins—giving up Tim Thomas and Cuttino Mobley.
• Traded for Marcus Camby.
• Signed Baron Davis.
• Drafted Eric Gordon.
• Hired John Lucas assistant coach (more on this a little later).
• Traded for Rasual Butler for a conditional second round pick in 2016.
• Traded for Quentin Richardson—giving up Zach Randolph.
• Traded for Sebastian Telfair, Craig Smith, and Mark Madsen—giving up Quentin Richardson.
• Drafted Blake Griffin.

Out were Tim Thomas, Cuttino Mobley, Zach Randolph, and Quentin Richardson.

In were Al Thornton, Marcus Camby, Baron Davis, Eric Gordon, Mardy Collins, Rasual Butler, Sebastian Telfair, Craig Smith, and Blake Griffin

In three years Dunleavy built his team by trading the pieces that didn't fit (Randolph and Richardson) for the bulk of a quality NBA starting lineup and bench.  Wow.  I would put that up against any other team's three-year history!

Now, it's time to prove it.

Proving it is on the team, laying off the negative mojo is on us.  It's time we began to notice that the skinny kid is bulking up.  It's impossible to deny.  Three great drafts, solid trades and a coach secure enough to hire someone who many would see as his replacement. 

NBA coaches know they have a short life span.  They have to make an impact and make it quick.  Few coaches are secure enough in their position to hire someone with a pedigree to sit on the bench with them.  Dunleavy hired John Lucas. 

The fiery Lucas was seen jumping up and down along with the bench players during the Clippers recent come from behind win against Memphis, in every way a seemingly perfect fit for this club.  It wasn't long after his hire that the rumbling and mumblings about him replacing Dunleavy began.  Do you think this took Dunleavy by surprise?  Of course not.

It takes a strong coach to hire a strong personality.  It takes a lot of effort from everyone involved to alter the perceived destiny of a floundering franchise.  It takes guts for the skinny kid to man-up, work-out, and kick some bully butt.

For the Clippers it's going to take winning to prove the tide has turned.

The time is now.